The Epic Quest
by Marches45 Story Network
Summary: Takes place after the series. Gumball is an adult married to Carrie. One day, he goes to run errands, promising to return soon. He has no idea what's gonna happen to him. I dare you to guess what story is the basis for this fanfiction. There is a reason that I titled it this way. Read and review.
1. Chapter 1: The Start of the Quest

**The Epic Quest**

Disclaimer for this and all future chapters: I don't own TAWOG.

**I'm Marches45, the author. Here's a new fanfiction story of mine that's based off an ancient story off of which many, many, many stories have been based. As you read, think about what exactly the thematic material is and who wrote it. Definitely review if you think you've got the answer. For the final chapter, I will announce the guest winner and the signed-in winner. **

**Just so you know, Gumball is an adult married to Carrie (I just love that pairing even though I know it will never become canon). If you don't like that pairing, please don't be rude about it. Okay, here we go.**

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Chapter 1: The Start of the Quest

It was a calm, quiet morning in the Watterson house. Gumball Watterson, now an adult, was sitting in the living room, watching Daisy the Donkey reruns on TV. He was feeling rather nostalgic doing so, as he recalled his past.

A smile began to form on his face, and he rested his head in his hand and his elbow on his leg as he watched the show. He turned to face his wife, who had floated in and sat on the couch next to him, and his smile grew.

"I miss the old days," he said. "Back when we were younger, and we had just started our long lives together."

"I do, too, sweetie," Carrie said, smiling and putting a hand on Gumball's hunched back. "I do, too."

* * *

_Deleted Scene_

"Then we got older, and we had to split up. Being without you for four long years was…was unbearable, Carrie. I don't know how I did it," he admitted sadly.

"Oh, Gumball," she consoled, softly rubbing his back.

"It was worth it, though. When those years were finally up, I came back to the most beautiful woman undead."

"Oh, you!" she giggled, blushing. Leaning toward him, she gave him a kiss on the cheek.

"Then, after we were married, we _really_ loved each other," he continued, grinning.

"Oh, yeah!" Carrie started to laugh. "We fucked. So. Much!"

"Haha, yeah!" Gumball agreed, thinking about his multiple children. He and Carrie had had sex so many times, they had become the parents to more than 60 kids. Sighing, he said, "Life is great now."

"It sure is," Carrie concurred.

Looking at her, Gumball smiled and said, "I love you, Carrie."

"I love you, too, Gumball," she returned, smiling lovingly.

_Deleted Scene over_

* * *

Gumball reached out with his free hand and pulled her into a hug. They followed it up with a kiss. Carrie then got up and said, "Oh, Gumball, I need you to go out to get groceries."

"Sure thing, Carrie," he nodded in compliance.

"Here's a list of what everyone needs and wants."

She handed him the list, he read it over, and then he stood up.

"Alright. I'll be back as soon as possible," he announced.

"Take care."

"I will."

Gumball pulled her into a quick kiss, grabbed his wallet and keys, and went out to his car. He got in, started the engine, and drove off to the grocery store.

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**So, do you think you figured it out yet? The title is a hint, if you're having trouble. Read and review.**


	2. Chapter 2: The Fun Begins

**Let's continue. Remember, see if you can find out what story provides the thematic inspiration for this fanfiction.**

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Chapter 2: The Fun Begins

Gumball drove for about thirty minutes before reaching the supermarket. He grabbed his list, left the car, took a shopping cart, and set out to get the needed items.

"Okay. So what's first?" he asked himself, looking at the list. "Eggs." He pushed the cart to the dairy section, looked for all of other dairy products on the list, got them, and moved on to the next item.

After a while, he had gotten all of the stuff he needed, so he went to the checkout register. Unfortunately, out of 10, only one was open, and there were so many people in it. Gumball groaned, "Ugh! Why the hell aren't there more lines open?"

He had to wait for 10 minutes in that one spot before the customer at the front finally completed the purchase. Unfortunately, the customer in front of Gumball failed to pay attention to the moving line, as he was on his cell phone talking about who knows what, and he left a giant gap in it.

Noticing this, Gumball tapped on the man's shoulder and tried to say, "Uh, sir. You can move up; the line went forward," but the man said, "Excuse me. I'm on the phone." Then, he went right back to talking to whoever was on the other end. Gumball softly growled in frustration at him.

The register line continued to move as more people rang up their purchases and left. As a result, the gap formed by the distracted customer on his cell phone grew, as did Gumball's frustration.

"Dude, seriously, you're making a huge gap in the line. Move up," Gumball insisted.

"Why don't you shut your mouth? I'm talking to someone, thank you very much," the customer said rudely, earning an annoyed glare from Gumball, who then grabbed his shopping cart and went to go to the spot that would have been his predecessor's.

Just as the cart passed by it, the rude customer's slammed into it. Gumball stared in astonishment as the man said, "Don't cut in front of me, you bastard!"

"Well, what the hell was I supposed to do? You were holding up the fucking line by talking on your cell phone!" Gumball angrily retorted.

The man held out his hands and showed Gumball the palms.

"You see this? Yeah, this is the number of fucks I give. I was in line first; you can't just cut me!"

"You were making a huge ass gap in it by not paying attention!"

"So what? If I wanted you to get in front of me, I would have fucking told you, but since I didn't, you have no right!"

Once the customer was done yelling, Gumball punched him in the face hard, making him land on his butt. Using the opportunity, Gumball got in front, and he said sternly to the customer on the ground, "I told my wife that I'd be home soon, and I intend to do just that! _You_ were in my way, so you needed to be removed!" before turning around.

Taking his hand off of his now black eye, the customer stood up, pushed his cart into Gumball's backside, and muttered, "I pray that you don't get home when you expected, you bitch!"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, whatever," Gumball indifferently uttered, shrugging the customer off. He ignored his angry seething as he waited for his turn at the register, paid for his groceries, and left the store.

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**Like it so far? No? Oh, well. I can't please everyone. Read, review, and see if you can find out the story that this parallels.  
**


	3. Chapter 3: Tests

**Continuing on with the third chapter. Now, this chapter uses OCs that belong to ZombieRay10, TheJayster49, and TheMurderSceneGuy on deviantART, so I incorporated this disclaimer, which applies to the rest of the story.  
**

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Chapter 3: Tests

Gumball was on his way back to his car, groceries in hand, not realizing that a thief was hiding in the bushes. As soon as he passed, the thief jumped him, knocking his purchases out of his hands.

"Give me your wallet!" commanded the thief, holding a knife to Gumball's throat. Gumball just shivered in terror on the ground, too afraid for his life to move.

"I said give it to me!" he spat, faking a lunge. Gumball shrieked and slowly reached into his pocket. He nervously handed it to the thief, who chuckled and then took Gumball's cell phone. "Pleasure doing business with you, sucker!" he laughed as he stood up and punched him in the face. Then, he ran off.

Gumball sat up and rubbed his sore face. He went to check for any damage to his stuff, and he found that all of the eggs were now cracked. "Ugh! Damn it!" he groaned, taking the carton and throwing it into the garbage. He then put the rest of his things in the car, strapped himself in, and pulled out of the parking space.

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From the supermarket, Gumball went to Joyful Burger to have lunch, forgetting that he got his wallet filched. He got in line and waited for 10 minutes before his turn arrived.

"Welcome to Joyful Burger, sir. May I take your order?" asked the clerk.

"I'll just have a double cheeseburger, please," Gumball answered.

"Alright. That will be $1.62."

Gumball reached into his pocket, and he was surprised when he felt nothing. He quickly checked his other pockets without luck, and that's when he remembered. He smacked himself in the face and sighed, "You can cancel that order."

"What's the problem?" asked the clerk.

"I forgot like an idiot that I got my wallet stolen. Sorry to waste your time."

"That's all right. I hope you get it back."

"Thanks."

"You have a nice rest of the day."

Gumball nodded and exited the restaurant. He walked to his car and continued the drive home. He had almost arrived when the traffic significantly slowed down.

"What the hell? What's going on?" he said, sticking his head out of the window. He saw a police officer directing everyone to turn to the right. Behind the officer was a car accident that closed off the road.

"Aw, gosh damn it!" he yelled angrily after getting his head back into the car. "Grrr. If I find out that one of those drivers was drunk, I'm gonna want to grab a wine bottle and smash it on his head!"

Gumball turned in the directed direction and continued driving. He went pretty quickly so that he could get home as soon as possible.

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_Meanwhile…_

Carrie paced anxiously at the front door waiting for the return of her husband. She had tried calling his cell phone, but for some reason, he wasn't picking up.

"Ugh! Where are you, Gumball? Why aren't you back yet?" she groaned, staring out of the window. She was so focused on her husband's tardiness that she failed to notice that two of her kids, Skye and Carbon, had come into the living room.

"Hey, Mom," greeted Skye, startling Carrie. "What are you looking at?"

"Oh, it's you two," said Carrie, breathing a sigh of relief. "Well, your father went out for groceries, but he said he'd get home soon. I expected that soon wouldn't take as long as it has."

"Maybe he ditched you. He'd be doing you a favor," Carbon joked, laughing, which caused Skye to hit him in the chest.

"Carbon!" she scolded.

"I'm kidding! Gosh, don't be so prissy, or, since you're part cat, should I say pussy?"

"You look more like a cat than I do, dumbass!"

"Oh, fuck you, Skye!"

"Okay," interrupted Carrie. "So, are you two going anywhere?"

"I'm off to see John," said Skye.

"I'm going to see Sally," added Carbon.

"Alright. Well, I'll see you guys later," said Carrie, opening the door.

"Bye, Mom," they both said as they walked outside and got into Carbon's car. Just as Skye sat down, she looked through the windshield and saw a terrible car accident far down the street.

"What the hell? Carbon, check that out!" she called, pointing at the scene. He looked in the direction of the wreckage and said, "Damn! Who got drunk?"

"Some dipshit, probably."

"Well, I'm sure nobody we know is being affected by that right now. Let's go." Carbon then turned on the engine and drove off, away from the scene of the accident, to pick up his and his sister's relationship partners.

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**Figured it out the story yet? Let me know in a review.**


	4. Chapter 4: Stormy Hitchhike

**More hardships are coming for our blue cat. Read on to find out.**

**Two new OCs whom I don't own: Gumdrop belongs to Midnight-Wolfi3; Carine belongs to ThatGexDude.  
**

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Chapter 4: Stormy Hitchhike

"Oh, come on!" Gumball shouted, staring at the gauge of his car. He was out of gas.

"First, some guy acts like a dick at the supermarket. Next, I drop the eggs. Then, I get robbed of my wallet and cell phone, so I can't replace the stuff nor get lunch, and I can't call the cops for help, nor my wife to pick me up! Now, I have to take a detour to get to my house, where I was about to arrived, and my car runs out of gas! Could this day get any worse?!"

He really should not have said that because after he had grabbed his groceries out of the car and started walking home, the sky began to darken, and there was a clap of thunder once he had gotten too far from the car to want to turn back.

"Oh, you've got to be fucking kidding me!" he shouted at the sky. "I've got to get home before the rain starts," he grumbled as he started to walk faster. No sooner had he said that than a raindrop fell on his head. "Really?"

The rain began to fall even harder, soaking Gumball. He didn't care. He just walked as quickly as he could to get home fast until a car drove up to him.

The person in the passenger seat rolled down his window and called out, "Hey, Gumball!" making him turn his head to see who it was. A smile spread across his face as he excitedly said, "Darwin!"

"Why are you walking in this storm?"

"Well, I was robbed of my cell phone and wallet when I was leaving the supermarket, and my car is out of gas."

"Wow. Tough day, huh?"

"Yeah. Uh, can I have a ride home, please?"

"Sure thing. Hop in." Darwin unlocked the car doors and let Gumball in. Sighing in relief, Gumball set his wet bags in the seat next to him as the car, driven by Darwin's wife, Rachel, headed for his house.

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Carrie stared a hole into the TV cable box, which displayed the time, 8:45. She was running out of patience waiting for Gumball's return. Every second she spent looking at the clock, the longer it seemed to take.

All of a sudden, there was a loud bang on the door, which scared the living daylights out of her. This also alerted two of her kids upstairs, Gumdrop and Carine, who rushed to the staircase just in time to see a masked man kick the door in, spot them, and point a gun at them.

"Get down here. Now!" the man yelled the last part to frighten the kids into submission.

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**Do you think you've got the answer yet? I hope so. Read and review.**


	5. Chapter 5: Gumball vs Intruder

**Me: At last, my question has been answered (in deviantART)! I'll announce the answer next chapter, along with the person that answered. Now, I've been waiting forever to add this chapter. Now, we conclude our tale of The Epic Quest.**

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Chapter 5: Gumball vs. Intruder

By the time the rain stopped, the car had finally arrived at Gumball's house. Gumball exited, grabbed his items, and bid farewell to Rachel and Darwin, who drove off.

Gumball sniffed the air and instantly felt that something was amiss. He noticed a car parked in front of his house that he didn't recognize. He walked up to it and looked inside. He spied a small, rectangular object in the back seat that he recognized as his cell phone.

"It's him!" Gumball gasped, realizing that the thief who had attacked that afternoon was nearby. Extending his claw, he cut a hole into the window, reached his arm in, and grabbed his phone. He put it in his pocket and headed to his front door when his kids Skye and Carbon, and Carbon's girlfriend, Sally, arrived home. Gumball ran to the car as they all got out and instructed, " Guys, I need you to close the doors as quietly as possible."

"Why?" asked Carbon.

"Well, today, a guy stole my wallet and cell phone. I just saw his car right there," Gumball said, pointing in the car's direction, "which means he must be near here. Now, let's quickly and quietly get inside."

The teens closed the car doors, making sure to produce as little noise as they could, and followed Gumball to the house. He stopped at the front door and gasped when he saw that it was slightly ajar, alerting him that the intruder was inside. Carbon, Sally, and Skye took a peek into the window and saw Carine and Gumdrop tied up, mouths taped shut, and sitting on the floor in the corner of the living room. They also saw the intruder trying to ravage Carrie, who also had duct tape over her mouth.

"Dad, look!" Skye beckoned Gumball. He walked over to the window, and the sight in the bedroom made his blood boil. He went back to the door, slowly opened it, and barked, "Hey, you!" grabbing everyone's attention.

"You!" the thief said, beginning to smile. "So this is where you live."

"Get your ass away from my wife!" Gumball commanded.

"Uh, no. How about this: I beat the shit out of you, and I nail this bitch right in front of you?"

Gumball growled and lunged at the intruder, who, just in time, raised his face and landed a punch to Gumball's face. Gumball hit the floor, groaning. He looked up as the man grabbed him by the shirt and lifted him off of the ground. The man repeatedly struck Gumball in the face and stomach before throwing him at the wall, where he crumpled to the floor.

The thief laughed, "Now, I bang your wife as you do nothing but watch." He turned to Carrie, whose ghost tail was under his foot, preventing her from escaping. "Now, where were we?"

Gumball slowly opened his eyes and watched as the intruder knelt down and began violate Carrie. The sight of that made Gumball snap; he stood back up, walked up to the two, grabbed the intruder by the throat, and clawed him across the face. The intruder screamed. Gumball followed this with a punch to the face; then, he bashed the intruder's head into the wall until he was bloody mess. He dropped him to the ground and helped his wife remove the tape from her mouth.

Carrie threw her arms around him, and he returned the hug.

"I'm so glad you're back!" she exclaimed. "I was so worried!"

"I was too," replied Gumball.

Meanwhile, Carbon, Sally, and Skye, assuming that the danger was over, came inside from the porch and started unbinding Gumdrop and Carine. Suddenly, a gunshot rang out. Everyone looked at the intruder, who had fired at the ceiling. He then aimed his gun at Gumball, who had already made a run for him. Gumball knocked the gun out of his hands and grabbed his throat. He squeezed hard as he stood back up.

"You are done messing with my family. I'm gonna make sure you never do this again," Gumball said darkly.

"Please! Have mercy!" the intruder begged, gasping for air.

"Oh, you want mercy, now? Well, you should have thought about that before you stole my wallet and phone," Gumball said as he reached into the intruder's pocket and reclaimed his wallet, "invaded my house, tied up two of my kids, and tried to rape my wife! You don't deserve shit, so I'm not going to let you live!"

Suddenly, Gumball extended his gripping hands claws, piercing his assailant's neck, making blood ooze from the gashes. He gagged once more before he finally stopped breathing. Gumball let go of his neck and dropped him on the floor. He retracted his blood-stained claws, sighed, and fell to his knees, exhausted.

"Wow, Dad! You actually killed him!" said an astonished Gumdrop.

"Pretty cool," commented Carbon.

"Thanksforsavingus," Carine reluctantly mumbled, not wanting anyone to hear.

"What was that, Carine?" asked Gumdrop, who smiled at her mischievously. "I didn't quite hear you."

"Shut the fuck up, Gummypuss!" she retorted.

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Author's Note: I did that to show that while Carine hates boys, she has a soft spot for Gumdrop.

* * *

"Come on, what was it?" Gumdrop asked impishly. Carine gave him a punch to the shoulder in response. Gumdrop groaned in pain.

"Okay, guys. I'm going to bed soon; I suggest you all do the same," Gumball said standing up. He held onto Carrie as everyone went upstairs to prepare for bed.

* * *

"Goodnight, Carrie," Gumball said tiredly.

"Goodnight, Gumball," Carrie yawned.

"I'll tell you what happened tomorrow."

"Okay." The cat and ghost kissed one time and then drifted off to sleep.

THE END

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**Me: There you have it. If you haven't figured out the answer by now, you'll find out in the next chapter. Anyway, read and review.  
**


	6. Announcement

Announcement

Voice-over announcer: And now, the author of The Epic Quest, Marches45!

Audience: [claps]

Me: [walks onstage] Hello, all! [once noise dies down] I'd like to start by thanking you for taking the time to read this fanfiction story. Now, when I began it, I wanted you to see if you knew the famous story that served as the template for this fanfiction. It contained lots of intertextuality that I wanted you to notice. Here are some examples from the story:

• Leaving home, taking forever to return

• Hit to the eye

• Hoping for the main character to get sidetracked

• Being pushed further from the destination just as the main character nears it

• Kids of the main character leaving, returning with the main character

• Being caught in a storm

• Goodwill taking the main character to his destination

• Uninvited guest

• Final battle in which the main character triumphs

Do you notice the parallels now? Well, a certain someone did. In addition to posting this to FF, I also put this on deviantART. I made a contest where one would need to guess the answer to my question to win 10 deviantPoints. It took awhile, but someone finally came forward with the answer on dA. That person is another author here on FF, so I will announce him. Now, for those of you that are still drawing a blank, here is the answer.

[Drumroll]

The story that serves as the template for The Epic Quest is… **The Odyssey**, an epic poem by Homer, an epic poet of the eighth century BC. And the first person to correctly guess this was…[drumroll halts] BlackAcez! Congratulations, sir!

Audience: [applauds]

Me: This concludes The Epic Quest. I hope you all enjoyed reading it. Now, to all of you fanfiction writers, I say keep writing and keep entertaining your readers!

Audience: [final applause]

Me: [exits]


End file.
